


Project: Nautilus

by Avrina



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Caste, Childhood Friends, Dome Cities, F/M, Forced Relationship, Friendship, Future, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, M/M, Male Friendship, Matchmaking, Military, POV crossover, Post-War, Science Fiction, Virtual Reality, War Robots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22985818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avrina/pseuds/Avrina
Summary: The Europeans living in dome-cities have had only minimal contact with the United North America in the last two hundred years, since the Great American War ended. But now the Americans want an exchange of experts to learn from each other's way of life.The chosen experts, however, suddenly find themselves with deleted data modules in a struggle for survival in a nation which is certainly not united and in which monstrous machines run amok...





	1. 1-1

"Good morning, Ariel." VERA's soft voice woke Ariel, as it had done every morning since she had left her parents' house.  
"Morning." She yawned and fought her way out of the blanket, stretched and rubbed her face.  
"Shall I make you some tea?" VERA asked and Ariel moaned.  
"No. No, a coffee, but wait. I want to take a shower first." If she continued to sleep so badly and needed coffee in the morning, either someone from the health department or her controller would ask questions, not to mention the negative effect on her bonus points account. She got up and peeked through the curtains - it was still dark outside, of course, it was just before five. And yet her day was already beginning, so she shuffled tiredly into the bathroom. The resource display told her that she still had enough water in her account for this month, but she was more likely to take a long and extensive shower at a day off, on mornings like this the quick sonic shower was enough.

The disadvantage of the sonic showers was that they didn't refresh or relax you, but at least they saved time. In a hurry, Ariel slipped into plain civilian clothes and took her cup of coffee from the food counter in her unit. It was sweetened- with whatever- and moderated with some kind of milk, but strong enough to wake her up until her arrival at the lab. She had drunk half the coffee when the food counter beeped softly. The horrible standard breakfast porridge - Ariel gulped it down without appetite and decided to book some flavor upgrades for the next few days. Bad sleep and bad breakfast was a mood-killing mixture.

After a last look in the mirror Ariel grabbed her little bag.  
"See you later, VERA."  
"I wish you a pleasant and productive day, Ariel," the AI replied and Ariel sighed. Behind her, the door locked and she turned to face the stairs. Of course, she could have used the elevator for the six floors, but whoever used the stairs produced electricity and contributed to society and generated bonus points for their own account. So she hurried down the stairs and stepped through the big door of the residential building up to the street. The sidewalks were also covered with electricity-producing panels and since it was not far to the hospital of the neighborhood, she ran off. At the next crossroads, turn left and then go straight on for twenty minutes, straight towards the hospital gates.

~

The gatehouse scanned Ariel on its own and opened the small gate for her.  
"Good morning, Miss Caldaron," the system said politely. Ariel entered the complex and headed for the main building. Since nature was said to be good for the health, the space between the buildings had been turned into small green areas- Ariel preferred not to think about the cost, even though she would have liked to have more of these cheerful little spots in the city.  
"Hey, Ariel..." Petra, an elderly colleague, welcomed her at the staff entrance.  
"Good morning."  
Petra's short blond hair was disheveled, her civilian clothes crumpled and stained. "Are you all right?" Petra asked politely and Ariel nodded.  
"Sure. And you?"  
"Sure, what else?" Petra shrugged, but did not look as if she meant her words seriously. However, they were not close enough for Ariel to continue asking. Instead, they remained silent as they went down to the changing rooms and put on their grey-green overalls.  
"Hey-ho!" Happy as always Jessy entered the room.  
"Hey..." Ariel said with a hint of a smile.  
"Hey, Jessy," Petra greeted her. She had an annoying habit of always using the names of those she spoke to.  
"Oh, my God, really, those were two fantastic days off!" Jessy almost jumped from enthusiasm when she stepped to her locker. Ariel, however, pulled the zipper of her overall and was done.  
"Okay, see you in a minute." She was walking towards the door.  
"Hey, wait up! I'm just trying to-"  
"The shift starts in ten minutes."  
"Yes but-" The slamming door cut off Jessy and Ariel sighed softly. She didn't have many colleagues she got along with, but Jessy considered them all as her friends and wanted everyone to share in her life.

"Any incidents?"  
"No." Claudia shook her head tiredly and yawned. "The X-T-9 makes strange noises, but that's nothing new."  
Now it was up to Ariel to shake her head.  
"Well, I'm off. Quiet shift."  
"Sleep well."  
Claudia nodded and raised her hand in greeting. Whoever had worked the night shift with her had already disappeared - which was against the rules, but that was not Ariel's problem.  
"Morning," it shouted from the front and she called back "morning!" Johanna peeked around a corner.  
"Where are the others?"  
"Petra and Jessy should be here any moment. Who's missing?"  
"Oh, the usual suspects." Johanna waved off and Ariel nodded with a faint smile before she turned to her daily work. Claudia had already booted the large distributor, which scanned all the samples arriving at the lab, filled smaller portions and distributed them to the required stations, and Ariel now pushed past it. In a large corner right next to it was her little treasure, the ring-shaped Corvus, which could carry out almost any kind of analysis for whole blood or blood serum. Well, small was relative, because she could have easily lied down in the resulting circle, but she was responsible for the device and so she pulled the cover off the terminal, stuffed it into the compartment provided and pressed the button to power up. The Corvus was shut down during the night because of the low sample throughput - the device could cool down, run self-diagnostics and updates and start the cleaning program.

The laboratory filled up with the humming, buzzing and beeping of the booting devices, over which the lab operators shouted greetings, questions or whatever. Ariel replaced the canisters of cleaning fluid and filled the containers with consumables when the Corvus emitted a deep warning hum.  
 _"Axes collision"_ flashed on the terminal screen and Ariel sighed. She touched the error message, the axes whirred audibly and then the Corvus continued to hum evenly.  
"Say," Ariel winced, when Johanna suddenly appeared behind her, "did William talk to you?" She leaned against the Corvus, her arms crossed and the thick brows critically narrowed.  
"What do you think William should have said?" Ariel asked back. She had only met him briefly at the shift change yesterday.  
"The pipettor has a bent axis and William has been working with it for the last few days."  
"Jake, too. They've been testing the new programming, if I'm not mistaken." Ariel shrugged.  
"Maybe, but the axis is bent, William is registered as the last user and nowhere is there a note," complained Johanna. Ariel didn't understand the problem, because Johanna rarely had anything to do with the pipettor and calling the technicians was really no drama.  
"Have you already told the technicians?"  
Johanna rolled her eyes. "There's no one around at this hour."  
"That's not true and you know it," Ariel replied and turned back to Corvus, who again buzzed strangely.  
"And you know very well that you don't have to call there at a little after six." Johanna continued to moan.  
"Well, but instead of complaining to me you should take care of your equipment and report to the technicians. Or you could call William."  
Johanna pulled a face. "Why so? William will deny everything anyway, you know him."  
Ariel sighed, but came to avoid an answer when someone called for Johanna.

The morning began sluggishly and so Jessy, who was assigned in the sample intake, had a lot of time to provide Ariel with the latest information.  
"... no, really, he's really a sweetheart! He brought me the latest copy of-"  
Phlooooomp! The letter shoot interrupted Jessy and she sighed before she turned away. Ariel grimaced a little. Since Jessy had a new boyfriend, it was almost unbearable to listen to her for a little longer. Not that Ariel didn't approve, but...  
 _"Axes collision x-z"_ , the Corvus reported and Ariel tapped the error message with a sigh. The Corvus buzzed and then it cracked unhealthily. Ariel winced and waited anxiously for another reaction, but nothing happened. And because that was a very bad sign, she went into the detail view, looked for the indication which of the many axis constellations it had hit this time and then opened the cover over the corresponding section. At first glance everything looked normal - nothing was bent or in unusual positions - so she started first aid.  
Only to discover a little later that she had no idea what the problem was. Discontented, she went to the terminal and put her left hand on the control panel so that the implant in her wrist connected to the interface.  
"Connect to tech support," she said clearly. Almost immediately, somewhere in the back of her head, at the entrance to her mental-virtual space, she heard a faint ringing. It took an annoyingly long time for a faint click to announce a connection.  
"Sullivan."  
"Hey, Emmett, could one of you guys come by and take a look at the Corvus?"  
Emmett Sullivan made a strangely annoyed sound somewhere between growling and grunting. "The axes again?"  
"This time the ones in B section."  
"On my way." He broke the connection before Ariel could say anything more.

~

Emmett had the stature of someone who took care for the really big, really heavy, really dangerous machines- not fiddling with tiny medical devices. As he squeezed through the narrow entrance to the Corvus ring, he patted the device as if it were a sick animal.  
"Hey," Ariel greeted him with a smile.  
"Hey. The axes in B section, huh?" Emmett gave her just a quick glance before he opened the cover of the section in question.  
"Yes. The x-z-axis. It crunched disgustingly."  
He frowned. "Not good." He took a small flashlight out of his belt and shone it into the device, then carefully put his arm in and fiddled with something. "Has anything fallen over lately, leaked or anything like that?" he wanted to know then.  
"Not that I know of." She shook her head. "During the weekly cleaning two days ago, I didn't notice anything either. The B section was the most reliable so far."  
He gave a consenting growl and then frowned as there was an unhealthy crackle during his fumbling.  
"Is it bad?"  
"I don't know yet." He gave her a quick glance before standing up and pulling up the sleeves a little so that the deep blue technician marks on his wrists were visible. He then stepped up to the terminal and connected to the device in technician fashion. For a moment his fingertips twitched and his eyes stared into the void, then he blinked.  
"Could you please clean the axis sensors?" he asked Ariel and she nodded, quickly putting on gloves and reaching for the soft disinfectant wipes used for the particularly sensitive surfaces of the equipment.

A few minutes later, Emmett sighed.  
"One of the section sensors is blown."  
"Is this a big or a really big problem?" Ariel asked sullenly.  
"Actually," he started and crouched in front of the open B-section, "it's a rather small problem. This type of sensor is used in all multi-axis devices and I have some with me."  
"I hear a _but_."  
"The real problem is that I can't reach them." He seemed to feel her questioning gaze, for he looked at her briefly - his whole posture tensed suddenly and he blushed. So it was not the device itself, but rather him. Smiling, she looked down at him.  
"I'd be happy to help our teddy bear on protein shakes. Just tell me what to do."  
He raised an eyebrow. "I haven't heard that one yet. On the other side, there's a little cover you can take off. From there you should be able to get to one of them."  
Ariel hesitated. She hadn't meant any harm in her words, on the contrary, but since Emmett just went over it and they also had a problem to solve, an explanation or apology was misplaced. So she squeezed herself between the distributor and Corvus and took a small square cover from the Corvus back wall.  
"Where's the sensor?" she asked, and Emmett grimaced.  
"There's two of them. And I can't tell which one is broken."  
"So we might be replacing the wrong one first?"  
The answer was a half nod.  
"Marvelous." She sighed. "Left or right?"  
"One is on your right, right at the back wall."  
With a nod she carefully slid her left hand into the corvus and was extremely grateful for the overall, because it saved her from scratches as she struggled to squeeze her elbow through the opening. Emmett peered into the device from the other side.  
"A little further up, yeah."  
"Will you also tell me how to change the thing with just one hand?" Ariel then wanted to know as her fingertips stroked over the thumbnail-sized sensor and the four fastening screws. Emmett's response was a frown and a sigh.  
"With a little gentle force, I can move the z-axis to the side and then maybe I can lend you a fingertip." Over her twisted arm and the Corvus she grinned at him crookedly and he pulled his face to an apologetic smile. "The only other technician available earlier was Phil. He would have fit through there a little better, but I would have had to drag him here by the collar." He handed her a tiny screwdriver through the inside of the device.  
"Well, Phil wouldn't have had any choice but to get a few scrapes." She found the first screw and started turning. "I wouldn't have volunteered to help that guy." The dislike between Ariel and Phil has long been a cause for jokes.  
"But now you have to do practically all the work yourself," Emmett cautiously pointed out.  
"Damn it." The small screw slipped out of her hands and fell with a bright _ping_ on the bottom of the device. "Well, I'm always tinkering with the Corvus anyway. But without you, I wouldn't even have found the cause." She ignored the fallen screw and began to turn the second one while Emmett played with the axes according to the protesting buzz.  
"That's what technicians are for," he muttered, sounding a little embarrassed.  
"Yeah, but you're a nice guy on top of it." Out of the corner of her eye she saw him blushing. Then his fingers grazed her arm and he felt for the lost screw. "Maybe you should wait until we're done with this," she murmured intently and pulled out the second screw.  
"Yes, maybe. But what is done is done," he explained pragmatically.

In mostly concentrated silence, they replaced the two sensors - of course the second one had been the broken one - and when Emmett closed the cover, Ariel sighed. Her arms and back hurt from the sprains it had taken, and she stretched until it cracked.  
"I think I'll reconsider if I really want to qualify for the technical branch," she murmured.  
"You've done well," Emmett replied earnestly, picking up his tool bag. He gave her a somewhat shy smile and she smiled back.  
"Thanks." An uncomfortable silence arose for a moment until Emmett nodded weakly toward several sample racks the Corvus had spat out because the B section was blocked.  
"I think there's work to be done."  
"Looks like it." She nodded to Emmett and as he walked past her to squeeze through the Corvus entrance, she patted him on the upper arm. "Thank you."  
"You're welcome." He blushed again, but his voice sounded again like the busy growl she knew so well from the phone.  
"Hey, Sullivan," Petra shouted from the background as Ariel grabbed the samples and put them back on the Corvus' access scanner.  
"What's up?"  
"Come over for a minute..."  
Phloooomp, made the letter shoot clearly audible and a smile crept onto Ariel's face. She loved her job.

~

At some point around half past ten, the rush of samples subsided when most of the doctors had finished their rounds. The Corvus hummed peacefully and only Birgit cursed to herself because there were some problems with matching the blood reserves. Ariel declassified test results and flinched when Jessy screamed in disgust.  
"Ewww! How disgusting is that? Uagh! Help! Please!"  
Ariel hesitated. On the one hand, Jessy was a little diva and disgusted by all sorts of things, but on the other hand, they were all hard-boiled lab guys and had already seen many things that could spoil others' dinner. But before she had made up her mind, there was a strong knock in the back of her head. It was the kind of knocking that couldn't be ignored for long, so she pulled the small seat out of a panel of the Corvus' and sat down before closing her eyes and entering her mental-virtual space.  
It was a comfortable reading room with a huge panoramic window over the jungle and sea, but she opened a door and entered a dark blue room whose ceiling glittered like the night sky.  
"Hello, Ariel," Samuel, her controller, said with his usual fine smile.  
"Hello, Samuel," she replied. His white overall with yellow accents glowed in the dark room, making his blonde hair shimmer lighter than it was. Next to his head floated a fist-sized, pale pink shimmering ball - her file.  
"Is there something you want to talk about?" he asked friendly. Three times a year you had to have a conversation with your controller.  
"No," Ariel said with a sigh.  
"Is the moment unfavorable right now?"  
"No, it's okay." She shook her head slightly and he nodded. He had his hands clasped behind his back and only his eyes twitched a little as he examined her file.  
"You haven't been sleeping very well lately," he said.  
"No."  
"Any reason?"  
She looked away. "Besides the fact that I'm going into the matching program at the end of the year?"  
"That's almost eight months away."  
"So? Do you think until then I'll find a boyfriend and be able to cement the relationship to the point where I'll get a postponement?" If Samuel had an opinion, he was not allowed to reveal it, so he just bowed his head and his smile widened a little.  
"A lot can happen in eight months, Ariel. And if I may point out, you're not going out much either."  
She snorted. "Going out? I'm tired all the time as it is, and I can't afford to order more coffee or neglect my work much longer."  
"Going out doesn't necessarily mean going to a club at night," Samuel said calmly. "I also meant that you generally don't do much."  
She snorted again. Her job was strenuous - if not physically, then mentally and she had hardly any friends. She had grown up in another dome and this one was so damn big and anonymous...  
"I see you had a health check," Samuel said when she didn't respond.  
"Yes. Everything's fine."  
He nodded. "Healthy and fertile. Did it worry you?"  
She sighed. "No."  
"Don't you want kids?" The question was so damn unnecessary because Samuel- or rather the file- knew everything about her anyway.  
"Yes, I do. But I don't like the thought of having some guy put in front of me."  
"You don't just get someone in front of your face, Ariel." The slightly reprehensive tone didn't exactly improve her mood. "You can choose and have the last word."  
"I have a choice... between ugly, intelligent and genetically perfect on the one hand and sexy, stupid and average on the other?"  
The corners of Samuel's mouth twitched treacherously. "I doubt it." He cleared his throat and twitched his eyebrows as if he needed to get his face back under control. She knew that the process of selection was not going as she had just described it, her parents had been matched too, but this matching guaranteed nothing. And her parents had separated after five years and two daughters.  
"But there's still time until then. Is there anything else you might want to discuss?"  
She sighed and hesitated for a moment. "I was thinking of taking a technical qualification."  
"But you haven't filed any paperwork yet?"  
"No." She pulled a wry face. "I know I need my supervisor's approval, and Antje is - excuse me - a real bitch about that."  
"You could skip her level if you really cared," Samuel remarked neutrally, although he was quite right. Above Antje as head lab analyst was Andreas as lab manager and he was a nice guy who put a lot of value on education.  
"I know, but when Antje feels passed over, she will bitch even more."  
Samuel nodded and put his head slightly tilted. His eyes twitched back and forth for a moment, then he smiled at Ariel. "I have sent you a form. Two technicians from your hospital and one of your superiors must speak for you there. When you have that, send it back to me."  
Surprised, she looked at him. "Don't I usually have to ask Antje for permission?"  
"No. Besides, Antje's position is not to have any control over such things."  
Ariel had to grin. "Thanks, Samuel."  
"You're welcome, Ariel." He just nodded. "Is there anything else?"  
"Nothing I can think of right now."  
"Whatever you say. You know you can always get back to me."  
"Yes, I know."  
He picked a yellow orb out of nowhere and threw it at her. It was the confirmation that they had officially spoken to each other on the appointed date, and in Ariel's hands the orb turned green, then she threw it back to Samuel. He nodded at her and the feeling that she was no longer welcome in this room made her turn around and step through the barely visible door back into her own room. There she took a few deep breaths before she left the mental-virtual space and ploped back into the humming and buzzing bustle of the laboratory. She blinked into the harsh light and rubbed her temple.  
At least, she thought, as she turned back to the terminal, Samuel hadn't made a drama out of her coffee consumption.

~

"A tea and chocolate chip cookies, VERA." Ariel said before the door behind her was properly closed.  
"Of course. Welcome home, Ariel."  
Ariel was just grumbling in response. She put her bag aside, took off her jacket and shoes and stretched. Her eyes fell on her resource display, a small screen in the wall, and she raised an eyebrow.  
"Did they change the points for coffee?" she asked.  
"Yes", VERA confirmed. "Trade routes within Africa have been stabilised." Ariel wouldn't get more than this minimal explanation, but she had no idea about politics and economy anyway. The food counter called in and she accepted a large cup of fruit tea and a plate of five chocolate cookies. Five cookies- usually there were only three. For her work on the Corvus? For talking to her controller on time? Because her caloric intake was too low? Who knew. And no, she didn't have to ask VERA about it.

With tea and cookies she went to her desk and sat in the comfortable armchair - it had cost both coins and bonus points, but it was worth it. She started the computer and while it was working, she took a careful sip of tea. The bitter aroma was softened by the sweetness of raspberries, but it still burned on the tongue. The computer asked for both password and fingerprint and then she sat back until her implant in her neck met the interface in the chair. Almost immediately, she was standing in the mental-virtual space.  
With a movement of her hand, the windows slid open and immediately the sound of the sea down on the beach was audible, as was the chirping of birds. She had never been to the sea before, but the salty scent wafting through the window with a breeze came from a database and was therefore quite authentic. She closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed the self-created atmosphere before turning to the transparent shelf hanging right next to the door. On it lay a white and yellow cube - the message Samuel had spoken of. With a few brief gestures she took the form from the message and glanced at it for a moment before folding it back together with further brief gestures and placing it as an blue cube on a silver plate which stood on a commode by the door. The wrist implant in reality vibrated briefly to tell her that the shortcut had been successfully created, then she detached and blinked again. After she had already lost herself over there several times, she had instructed the AI to bring her back after three hours at the latest.

She took another sip of tea and noshed on a cookie while she logged in to the streaming platform. From her list of favourites she selected the channel of Pyrozz and one heartbeat later she saw him playing HEROES, his own face in the bottom right corner.  
"...yeah, come, come, be a good foe..."  
Ariel smiled. Pyrozz's real name was Andrew Montgomery, a famous soccer player who spent his free time gaming and was extremely successful - Ariel's modest opinion was that he was more successful than in soccer.  
"Oh, hey Nailyn! How are you?"  
That was Ariel. "According to my health-check, I'm fine," she typed. "And you?"  
"Nice to hear, nice to hear..." That was one of the reasons why Pyrozz- Andy- was so popular: he cared for his fans and treated the hard core like friends. Ariel couldn't believe that she was now a part of the group. "Yes," he said after a moment of staring intently at the game, "I'm so-so. Twisted my knee yesterday and the doc won't let me play this weekend." His narrow face distorted. "Damn, where did this guy come from? Yeah, no, it's okay. I've been playing for twenty years now and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you should let injuries heal. It's true."

Ariel drank her tea, nibbled her cookies and watched Pyrozz win his game. In an exaggerated gesture, he raised his arms.  
"Yeah! Yeah! Whoo-hoo-hoo!"  
Ariel giggled, he looked like a little kid.  
"Oh, hey, Tommy. You off already?"  
She took a look at the chat. _"Zheta has joined."_  
"Yes, the squad returned earlier than expected," Zheta wrote.  
"Would you like to join in?"  
"Sure."  
"Wait, I will add you..." Pyrozz alone was pure entertainment, but together with Zheta it was even more fun. Sometimes she wondered how Pyrozz still found time for his girlfriend, but she was a psychologist and probably very busy.  
"Hey guyss..." Zheta said happily. Almost immediately the chat room was full of _"hey Zheta"_ messages.  
"So, the boys came back earlier than expected?" Pyrozz wanted to know.  
"Yup. You know I can't talk about it, but I guesss it wass a quiet trip." Zeta's lisp was kind of cute - at least Ariel thought so.  
"Let's hope things calm down out there."  
"That'ss not our job, Andy..."  
"I know..."  
She wasn't quite sure what exactly Zheta was doing, but he was part of the military in some way.  
"Anyway. You want to play a little? League?"  
"Yeah.."  
"Meanwhile, have you filled your tank set with red runes?" Ariel asked and Pyrozz shook his head.  
"Unfortunately, no, Nailyn. I'm still two short."  
"Nailyn?", Zheta asked in between, irritated.  
"Yeah?" she typed.  
"Wait, aren't you the one who beat up Iggy lasst week ass an alien asssasssin?"  
"Who is Iggy?" she wanted to know, but Pyrozz nodded.  
"Yes." He giggled. "Iggy looked pretty dumb after it. You're still in the bronze league, aren't you?"  
"Yes, bronze."  
"Would you like to play a round with us? Unscored, of course."  
Her mouth opened in surprise. Pyrozz had just asked her to play with him? She blinked at the screen. "Okay..."  
"Hold on, I'll send you an invitation on Talk2..."  
She hastily logged in there and plugged in her headset, a moment later a window popped open.  
"Hi, Nailyn."  
"Hey, hey..."  
"Hi, guys..." she said shyly and hastily closed the stream before opening HEROES.  
"Don't worry, we won't bite," Zheta said cheerfully.  
"Hehe..." Pyrozz laughed softly.  
"I hope so," she muttered, hoping more that she didn't sound too awful.  
"You turned off the stream, didn't you?"  
"Yes."  
"Good. Ready to go?"  
"Yes."  
"Yeah..." Zheta said. She got a group invitation in the game and confirmed that she was ready, then the screen switched to character creation.  
"Orc, Human and Alien. I'm building an Orc tank, okay?" Pyrozz said immediately.  
"All right. Nailyn?"  
"Elf, Orc and Aether," she said with a frown.  
"Have you ever played an Aether?" Pyrozz wanted to know.  
"No. I would build an elf as an assassin."  
"Okay. Tommy?"  
"Beasstmasster, human and alien. Shall I ssee what weaponss I can choosse from ass a human?"  
"Yeah, then you can do support or support DD," Pyrozz agreed with him. The race choice was confirmed and they switched to class choice. Without hesitation Ariel chose the two katanas - the staff and the shield she left aside.  
"Yeah, a staff!" rejoiced Zheta, while Pyrozz mumbled:  
"Two-handed sword, bow and staff. Tank with two-handed sword..."  
"You can still do it," Ariel said lightly. "Orcs are pretty damn tough even without a shield."  
"And you sstill whacked Iggy," Zheta interjected.  
"Who is this guy, anyway?"  
"Iggdrasil, a friend of ours from the platinum league," Pyrozz explained, and Zheta added:  
"You know, with your vampirissm, you took three timess the damage he did, but you only died oncce."  
"How do you know that?" she asked, a little uneasily.  
"We were with Iggy on the stream. We all play unscored matches in between when we want to try new rune sets or tactics."  
Oh. They had seen the match. And now she knew again why _Iggdrasil_ had sounded so familiar to her.  
"Did you actually get good loot for it?" Pyrozz then asked while they were choosing a spell.  
"An orange vampirism rune."  
"Wow."  
She stared sullenly at the spells available to her for a moment and then chose an amplifier for life regeneration. If she remembered to use it, it could be really useful.  
"Okay, are we ready?" Pyrozz then asked.  
"Yes."  
"Go!"  
"Okay..."  
It took them only five seconds to find three other players and load the map.  
"Bah, New York," Pyrozz grumbled.  
"What don't you like about it?" Ariel curiously asked.  
"I just don't like the human map. It's all so gray. I mean, I see skyscrapers when I look out the window here, too."  
She giggled as Zheta sighed:  
"Don't be like that. At leasst I'll get a buff."  
"Yeah, yeah..."

They won, even if only barely. After a few minutes Ariel had lost her shyness and realized how fun it was not only to watch Pyrozz but to play with him herself.   
"Another match?" he asked and she agreed. He chose an orc tank again, Zheta an elf healer and Ariel played a beastmaster under Zheta's guidance, which worked surprisingly well. Nevertheless they lost because two of their team were apparently absolute beginners and made some stupid mistakes. For the third game, Ariel finally got her beloved alien melee assassin, and she went solo, wiping the map, cleaning up the enemy ranks from behind, and at some point Zheta complained:   
"Sserioussly, you're making me obssolete ass a healer. Andy iss sso damn good ass an Orc, it'ss no fun anymore." They laughed together and when they won, Ariel took a penitent look at the watch.   
"I gotta go, guys."   
"Pity. But nothing to change," Pyrozz said sympathetically.   
"What are you doing?" Zheta wanted to know.   
"I work at the hospital," she replied vaguely.   
"Are you a doctor?"   
"For God's sake, no! But I have green marks."   
"I ssee." Zheta said and you could hear his grin. "That'ss life."   
"Okay, Nailyn, it was nice having you. I hope you will come again soon," Pyrozz said honestly.   
"I hope so, too," she replied just as sincerely. "Bye, guys!"   
"Bye."   
She left and when she was sure that she had exited Talk2, she sighed loudly. Her hands were shaking and she was still full of adrenaline. Then the game's message icon flashed.   
"I'm recording all matches besides the stream as well. Is it okay for you if I upload them?" He even asked her about it!   
"Yeah, it's okay."   
"Thanks."   
She rubbed her forehead and smiled a little silly. This was not how she had imagined her afternoon.

~

"Honey, have you heard of Nautilus?" Dorian wanted to know. Even after all these years, Ariel couldn't understand why her cousin insisted on video calls so vehemently. She felt a little silly eating in front of him while he devotedly polished his nails.   
"Nautilus... you mean the animal?"   
"Oh, Ariel, please!" Dorian looked up from his nails, almost offended. "I'm talking about the Sub-Atlantic Connection."   
"Ah. What about it?" Ariel asked, the mouth full of rice and broccoli.   
"They've opened the tunnels and are preparing travel capsules."   
Surprised, she looked up. "Are you even allowed to talk about this?"   
He raised his hand to examine his work and his light blue marks on his wrist shimmered in the light. "At least we weren't forbidden..." he said after a moment.   
"But... if they open the submarine line... does that mean there are more serious talks with the United North America than polite, cold messages?"   
Dorian shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, after two hundred years, it's high time two ambassadors or something like that get together and talk."   
"Hmm..." Ariel did with her mouth full. When she swallowed, she wanted to know: "And why are you telling me this?"   
"Because you never have anything exciting to tell. Seriously, honey, get a guy. At least _try_ to do that before you get into the matching program."   
In reply she sighed. Dorian had let himself be matched as quickly as possible, had done his duty and fathered two children, separated and now, at not even thirty, enjoyed his life with another man by his side.   
"And honey, I don't mean you should build a fake relationship that will leave you as unhappy as a match. I mean that you should _really_ try."   
"Yes, Dorian," she sighed again. "You are worse than my controller."   
Outraged, he made _tzz_ and again worked on a nail. For a moment they remained silent.   
"I'm not even sure I have the nerve for a relationship," she murmured. "If one is forced on me, I don't have to bother."   
"Will you just push your kids aside as soon as you can, too?" Gay or not, Dorian took his role as father surprisingly seriously.   
"No, of course not. But children are different than a relationship." Strangely distant, she registered how tired she sounded.   
"You need a break," Dorian diagnosed, expressing her thoughts.   
"I can't just-"   
"Yes, you can. Take a few days off and go home to your mother and sister."   
"I can't..."   
"Of course, you can."   
She pushed the rest of her dinner away.   
"It's just some well-meant advice, Ariel."

When Ariel later went to bed, turned off the light and pulled the blanket up to her chin, Dorian's words echoed in her head. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her mum or her little sister in person. The last time she had had more than just the obligatory days off in her shift schedule. The last time she had done something with someone who was not part of her work environment or Dorian.   
Maybe, she thought and curled up under the covers, she should talk to Samuel about it. He was different from her previous controller and that in a good way. Maybe- she yawned into her pillow- he offered good advice from his point of view.


	2. 1-2

The subtle change in the hum of the Moby was enough to wake Logan. He had spent so much time in this thing over the last ten years that it was as much a home to him as his room in the barracks. He blinked and noticed that the reddish shimmer was getting brighter; through half-closed eyelids he watched it first turn orange, then yellow and then white with a blue tinge, only then he sat up carefully - he was too tall for the narrow berths of the mobile bunker.   
A fine shiver trickled down his back as his naked feet touched the bare metal floor, but he didn't bat an eyelid when two double berths further on Sascha- the only woman in the team- jumped to the floor with splashing feet.   
"On your feet, you rats!" she shouted in her scratchy, deep voice, then stomped down the narrow corridor to the tiny bathroom. Logan raised his arm and shook Joey, who was sleeping in the berth above him.   
"Hey, get up. We're going home."   
Joey growled something incomprehensible and curled up under the blanket.   
"Joey!"   
"Lemme be..."   
"Joey!"   
"Go away..."   
Logan sighed. Every morning the same play.   
He walked along the berths and shook his comrades awake, David having had night watch and therefore missing. "Boys, get up," he shouted once more and then the red light of the bath lamp turned green as Sascha stepped out, with combed dark blond hair and dressed. She nodded to him and he entered the tiny bathroom, the door muffled the flood of curses she was throwing at their comrades.   
He relieved himself, slipped out of his washed-out sleeping clothes and quickly climbed under the sonic shower, then took out of his compartment his underwear, socks, overalls and boots.   
Dressed, he stepped back into the sleeping corridor and nodded to Mohammed, who pushed his way past him into the bathroom. The double berth of Peter and Juan had already driven back into the wall and Carlos used the space for his morning stretches.   
"Get a move on, guys, I'm falling asleep standing up," David sounded over the loudspeakers, sounding tired. Logan shook Joey's shoulder again. Joey's answer was already much more alert:   
"Dude, go get some breakfast..."   
"If you're still in bed when I get back, then-"   
"- then I'll have to get into the suit without a shower and breakfast, yeah, yeah..." Joey growled. It had been the same play for years.

With a vitamin drink and the sticky breakfast porridge in his stomach, Logan left the Moby a few minutes later. The humid air tasted of metal and pollution. Just left of the access ramp was Logan's combat suit; the anthracite paint was covered with dew, which made the white writing _Duke_ on the back and the identification numbers on the shoulder parts shimmer in the hazy morning light. Via his implants he accessed the suit, which then slung the Harric-rifle over his shoulder, opened the helmet's double visor and let the chest plate in its hinges fold forward a little before folding his hands for a leg up. A well-trained soldier could even use this connection to control his suit completely from the outside, but Logan had seen men and women with implants and partially burned minds as a result, so he prayed that he would never have to go that far.

Behind him the Moby opened and spat out Joey, Daniel and Michael. Almost immediately their suits buzzed in their programmed entry procedure. Joey's suit - significantly smaller than Logan's - bent one knee and then Joey stomped into Logan's field of vision - the overalls were still half open, revealing the from sweat yellow-grey undershirt and the red marks on the collar bones. He didn't look like he had taken a shower.   
With the help of the suits, they swung in and while Logan threaded himself into the holding net of the suit, he heard the Moby switch from rest position to motion mode.   
"What a mess..." Joey murmured sullenly.   
"What is it?" Logan wanted to know, and fastened the chest strap.   
"The hip belt has twisted in some way..."   
"What did you do with it yesterday when you undressed?"   
"Nothing!"   
"Then it wouldn't be twisted."   
Joey growled and Logan pulled the headrest into position, the suit came to life completely through the implant contact. He then locked the chest plate into place, causing the visor to close automatically and load the HUD while Logan pushed his arms into the suit and his wrist implants connected to the controls.   
"Are you snoozers finally ready?" Sascha scratchily asked over the radio.   
"Joey obviously has a problem," Daniel reported cautiously. Joey had apparently at least connected to the suit before, because he said angrily:   
"The holding net is twisted."   
"At closing time, the equipment must be checked and inspected, Hartfield," Sascha snorted.   
"Yes, ma'am."   
Logan turned to Joey, registered the mint smell of the air filter and switched on the chest spotlight. Joey nodded gratefully to him and then sighed up in relief a little later.   
"Got it," he said, and Logan stepped back.   
"Is everybody finally ready?" Sasha impatiently asked. Eight times it sounded "yes, ma'am," and then the little squad started to move.

~

The dome with the code name Black Bear could be seen from far away. They had been on the road for almost three weeks and they could all use a few days of rest and distance from their comrades. When you were on the road with the Moby, there was - apart from the tiny bathroom - no privacy. The fact that the commander of the small troop was one of the few women in the military didn't make it any better. Sure, Logan had earned himself a command-star and could have had his own squad, but they were a well-coordinated team and he didn't want to risk leaving Joey, one of his few real friends, behind.

To the left of the old road they followed, the upper third of the transport tunnel arched under pale grass and a few scattered flowers. Rain-laden clouds had come up and gave the barren surroundings a gloomy touch.   
"Humans at four o'clock," Michael suddenly reported, and Logan called up the HUD's environmental scan. Three red dots moved at the very edge of his scanner range.   
"Visual contact?" Sasha wanted to know. Michael's position point stopped while Logan kept moving.   
"Visual contact," Michael confirmed. Even if they were rebels, three of them posed no threat. "I think they're outcasts," Michael said after a moment. "One of them had a shimmering wrist."   
Logan shivered. To be expelled, it took a whole series of grave offences.   
"Weapons?", Sascha asked, already disinterested.   
"None recognizable," Michael reported, Sascha hummed contentedly and then it was quiet again. 

Logan looked forward to a shower with hot water and his soft bed. In another life- a fair life- he could have looked forward to his family as well. To his wife and child. But life was not fair and had taken away his fiancée Sarah and his mother. More precisely, it had been the rebels who had carried out an attack and killed almost a hundred people. Instead of returning to his own small family, his father, a high-ranking military man, was the only one in the barracks to watch over his return; his younger brother Kyle had been transferred to another dome shortly after the incident three years ago.

"Duke!"   
Logan flinched. "Ma'am?"   
"Concentrate, Logan, even though we're almost there," Sascha said much more gently and on private radio, as he now realized.   
"I'm sorry..." He blinked and dutifully skimmed his HUD.   
"I know what you're thinking about," she said softly and the scratching disappeared completely from her voice. "It still hurts..." She had lost her little brother in the attack.   
Logan made a vague "hmm" and turned his gaze to the left, although Sascha marched on the other side of the Moby. Every time they came home, it was the same...

~

"Short radio range reached," Juan, the driver of the Moby, reported shortly afterwards.   
"Announce our arrival," Sasha ordered.   
"Understood, ma'am," confirmed Juan. At the edge of the range, the suits' radio units were not entirely reliable.   
"God, how I look forward to a hot shower," Daniel sighed.   
"Yes, you need one too," Carlos mocked. "You stink."   
"And you smell less, or what?"   
"Hopefully I'll finally get that cheesy foot stink out of my nose," Mohammad interjected, and Joey remarked:   
"You could just pack an extra pair of socks for the next mission."   
Logan smiled and looked over at Joey who had also turned his head and grinned at him through his visor. But the approach in good spirits was interrupted by the insistent and unmistakable knocking at the back of his head.   
A controller conversation.   
With an annoyed sigh, Logan accepted the conversation as if it was just a phone call and the pale face of his controller Samuel appeared on the left edge of the HUD.   
"Hello, Logan," Samuel said politely.   
"I'm on mission," Logan replied succinctly.   
"We can talk later," Samuel said, bowing his head respectfully. _Later_ could mean anything. But in the evening, when the reports were finished, did he still have the nerve for such a conversation? Probably not, and pushing it aside was rarely a good idea.   
"Hold on a second," Logan said, and he radioed Sasha.   
"What's up?" she asked.   
"My controller," he said sullenly.   
"Hang onto Michael," she said plainly; in all the time they spent outside the dome, moments like this happened from time to time.   
"Okay." Logan gave his suit the necessary orders and closed his eyes.

When he blinked, he stood in Samuel's conversation room, which reminded him every time of the clear starry sky.   
"Is there something you want to talk about?" Samuel immediately asked.   
"No," Logan said curtly. Shortly before the attack, his old controller had retired, and he had been assigned to this boy with whom he didn't quite warm up. Samuel just nodded and squinted at the pale blue ball, which was Logan's file and hovered next to his head.   
"You have an appointment with your therapist the day after tomorrow."   
Logan gritted his teeth. "Okay." Weakly he was aware that his body was moving while his avatar was standing still, his hands like Samuel's clasped behind his back, even though his own posture clearly reflected his military life.   
"And tomorrow, you're all going to have a medical checkup."   
"Okay."   
"Shortly after your departure, two squads were destroyed in Sector 23. One Moby was completely destroyed, the other stolen."   
That caught Logan off guard. "The rebels have amassed so much firepower?" he asked unpleasantly surprised.   
"A lucky strike took out one of the Mobys almost instantly." Samuel indicated a helpless shrug, he just delivered the message. "They have identified an approximate location for a rebel base and are currently assembling troops. Your name is on two different lists."   
Logan raised an eyebrow, finding oneself on lists was rarely a good sign. "What kind of lists?"   
"For one, as a normal participant in the operation, for another, as a possible squad leader."   
Logan felt his lower lip twitch - not quite what he expected. "I don't suppose Joey Hartfield is on any of the lists."   
Samuel's eyes twitched as he looked through said lists. "No," he finally said.   
"Then I won't be participating in this operation," Logan explained without hesitation.   
"I doubt that's up for debate," Samuel said cautiously and Logan grimaced. The last thing he needed was a posting.   
"Has Sa- Zarkova been informed?"   
"She will be informed as soon as you reach the barracks."   
Sullenly, Logan nodded. Without him as a buffer, Sascha would mercilessly pick on Joey for his clumsiness and slowness. For a moment they remained silent.   
"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" The dark blue eyes shone in Samuel's pale face as he recited the standard phrase.   
"No."   
Samuel nodded, grabbed a yellow ball out of nowhere and threw it at Logan. He fished it from the air, it turned green and he threw it back- conversation confirmed, duty accomplished. After a brief nod to each other, he retreated and blinked at the bright HUD after the dark room.   
"- for lunch," Juan just said.   
"Good," Sasha said, sounding satisfied.   
Logan, however, had a headache.

~

"Please line up your suits, thank you," shouted one of the technicians and Logan rolled his eyes - none of them were greenhorns anymore. He lined up between Joey and Mohammed and shut the suit down, opened the chest plate and then began to peel himself out of the holding net.   
"Anything to report?" the technician asked, and David replied:   
"In the back it crunches when it moves sideways, especially when it twists."   
"I'll take a look at it."   
Logan climbed out of his suit and landed on the floor just as a familiar face slipped into the suit room.   
"Hey, guyss."   
"Hey, Tommy..." it came back multiple times. Tommy, a software engineer, twisted his arm to plug in the data readers on the inside of the chest plates.   
"Did you have a quiet trip?" he asked Logan. Logan nodded.   
"We ran into a few rebels at first, but they took off." He ran his hand over his hair that had been cropped short. "I heard what happened in Sector 23." Stunned, Tommy looked up from his datapad.   
"Where did you get that?"   
"My controller told me."   
"Ah. Why?"   
"Because apparently I'm supposed to be sent to the troubled area," Logan replied in an endearingly neutral tone, nodding at Joey as he waved at him to come to a late lunch with them.   
"Oh..." made Tommy uncomfortable. For a moment, Logan watched his reaction, then asked:   
"How bad was it there?"   
Tommy grimaced, but shrugged at the same time. "I don't know the detailss. But one Moby wass sstolen, one totaled, 37 dead."   
"Fuck." Logan's faint hope shattered and Tommy nodded in agreement.   
"There'ss been a lot of ssmoke and fusss about the ssouth for a while now..."   
Now it was time for Logan to nod, but he was stationed in the west barracks and not responsible for the south. Unless he was posted. He sighed.   
"I never complained about boring assignments and I'm still on the list..."   
"You're competent," Tommy said immediately with faint admiration in his voice. Logan was never quite sure what this admiration referred to, so he said:   
"You're just as competent. How are your qualifications going?" A little embarrassed, Tommy lowered his eyes to his inactive datapad.   
"Good. I need a few more hourss of training with thiss damn ssuit and then I can take my exsam in a couple of weekss."   
"And then, theoretically, you could come on tour with us and get bored in the rocking Moby for weeks." Logan winked at him.   
"You need more field engineerss," Tommy said still embarrassed.   
"I know. I'm just saying it's a lot more boring out there than it is in the barracks most of the time."   
Tommy sighed and wrung himself a smile. "What ssacrificsess you make in the name of duty..."   
This made Logan smile and he patted Tommy on the shoulder. "Earn your red marks and we'll see." _If I am still here at all_ , he added in his thoughts and turned away to finally join the others for lunch.

~

While Sascha delivered her oral report, the rest of the squad stood behind her, hands clasped behind the back, their eyes fixed on the wall. With proper food in his stomach, freshly showered and in clean clothes, Logan already felt much better than in the morning. Joey next to him shifted his weight far too often, making Carlos next to him nervous, Logan could see so much out of the corner of his eye over Joey's head, while he deliberately didn't look at his father, who listened to Sasha's report in blank.

"Thank you." Major Nathan Duke gave Sascha a short nod and then raised his voice. "Zarkova, Duke- you stay here. The rest of you: Dismissed!"   
"Sir!", it sounded immediately in unison. Logan stood there stiff as a poker, ignoring Joey's skeptical side glance. As the door closed, Nathan sighed.   
"I assume you've heard about the disaster in Sector 23."   
It was not really a question, but they nodded anyway.   
"We're putting together a task force from all the barracks to deal with the problem." Nathan briefly and hardly noticeably made a face. "Zarkova, we're disbanding your squad because you're short-staffed anyway."   
Sasha's only reaction was a double blink.   
"Duke and Keser will be integrated into the new task force, the rest will be divided among other squads in the west."   
Inside, Logan made a face - this would be even more uncomfortable for Joey than he had thought. Nathan pursed his lips for a moment, thinking.   
"We'll talk about your transfer later, Zarkova."   
"Of course, sir," she said calmly, although Logan could hear how upset she must be inside from the harsh scratching of her voice.   
"You're dismissed."   
"Sir! She saluted, turned sharply and stomped out.

Again Nathan sighed as the door closed. "At ease, Duke."   
Logan's shoulders relaxed a little, but he didn't change his stance - when he was addressed by his last name in private, something was wrong.   
"You'll have your own squad, Logan," Nathan said softly after examining his son.   
"I won't be asked?" Logan tried to appear neutral.   
"You've got your command-star more than a year ago and still haven't given a command. It's about time."   
"And my first command is to be part of this revenge operation?" Logan finally allowed himself to frown doubtfully.   
"At least this incident has given us a reason to finally disband Zarkova's squad and transfer her. Besides, a baptism of fire isn't necessarily a bad thing, after all, there are more than two or three troops involved." Something in Nathan's controlled expression made Logan hesitate before he asked:   
"What dimensions are we talking about?"   
Nathan's jaw clenched visibly. "The rebels took over one of the small supply domes in the south at the end of last year-"   
"And we're only _now_ doing something about it?" It burst out of Logan when the information actually reached him, after all it was already April. Nathan looked at him angrily.   
"We kept the fact secret and searched for more information, working with the Women's Gate Dome, the Black Lion Dome and the Rooster Gate Dome. And, yes, we've _only now_ been able to determine the approximate location of the rebel base." Nathan briefly pressed his lips together before continuing. "Of course we could have attacked the supply dome and taken prisoners, but the brass hats wanted a clean operation... and they want the supply dome back intact." It sounded like Nathan had preferred the dirty job, and Logan didn't like that. Not knowing what to say, he remained silent and endured Nathan's examining gaze until his father barely nodded.   
"All right... Tomorrow you'll all have a regular day off, the day after tomorrow you'll be here at 9 sharp."   
"To disband?" Logan tried to keep his face expressionless.   
Nathan nodded.

For a moment they looked at each other and Logan noticed that Nathan's dark hair was suddenly clearly streaked with grey. The fine lines around the eyes and mouth had become wrinkles.   
"Logan..."   
"Sir?" It was a trained reaction that, much to Logan's surprise, caused something like pain to flutter across Nathan's face.   
"I know you don't want to take command. And I know you're worried about your friend." This surprised Logan as well; Nathan had seldom bothered in Logan's 28 years to deal with the thoughts and feelings of his son.   
"You know Carstens?"   
Logan nodded.   
"His squad will also be disbanded and regrouped. I shall see that Hartfield is assigned to him."   
"Thanks." Logan said cautiously. Carstens was a good guy, and Joey would probably get along with him very well. Nathan nodded thoughtfully, sighed and then stood up, obviously looking for words.   
"It's a special operation and therefore only temporary. But we can't talk about your career until afterwards." Logan got a thoughtful glance and a cautious smile that somehow looked wrong on Nathan's face. "Enjoy your afternoon."   
"Thank you, S- father." Logan couldn't remember the last time he had been dismissed like this from a conversation with Nathan.

~

Dedicated Logan wrote his mission report in the afternoon. After so many field missions, the given paragraphs almost filled themselves and since the other five with whom he shared a room were either on duty or somewhere in the barracks, there was no one to disturb him.   
He had just sent the finished report when the computer's message symbol flashed. "Voice message from Emmett" appeared when he touched it, and so he attached the little headset to his ear.   
"Hey Logan... hope you had a quiet mission. I don't know if you're even back yet, but when you get this... um... can we talk? I... I think I need your advice..." The message ended and Logan frowned. If Emmett, pretty much his only friend outside the barracks, needed his advice, what was it about? Since he'd just gotten the message, he made a call to Emmett.   
"Hey..." he answered seconds later, surprised.   
"Hey, Ems, what's up?" Logan asked.   
"You guys back already?"   
"Yes, we came back earlier. The supposedly destroyed roads further out are all still in good condition and that has made our progress much easier."   
"Good to hear..." Emmett actually seemed taken by surprise by the quick response.   
"Your message sounded a little mysterious. What's this about?" Logan curiously asked when Emmett didn't say anything else.   
"Um... maybe we could meet in the real world?" Emmett had already had a strange aversion to virtual-mental rooms as a child, and so Logan said:   
"Sure, why not? I'm free tomorrow afternoon and evening."   
"Sounds good. Tomorrow night is fine."   
" _The Expert_ at seven?"   
"Okay..."   
"Can you tell me what this is about?" Logan repeated his question, because Emmett's underlying nervousness didn't escape him.   
"Um... well..." Emmett took a breath. "A girl."   
"For real?" Surprised and equally amused, a smile crept into Logan's face. It was a little melancholy, but honest.   
"Yeah, for real." Emmett literally growled. "If you weren't so sensitive on the subject, I would have told you sooner." The blow was justified, but still hurt. Logan made a face.   
"Sorry, Ems. I promise you-"   
"It's okay." Emmett sighed and Logan bit his lip. Over his worries about Joey, he had forgotten Emmett.   
A most uncomfortable silence fell until Emmett said softly:   
"Sorry. I didn't mean to... you know."   
"You're right, so... well..." Logan nodded, even though Emmett didn't see it.   
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."   
"All right..." The connection ended and Logan sighed deeply.

Sarah would have scolded him for neglecting his childhood friend like that. The two had gotten along well, but Logan had rejected all attempts by Emmett to support him in his grief. His gaze wandered to his bed and Sarah's picture which was pinned to the wall there. He could almost smell her fruity shampoo and feel her soft skin. Still under his fingertips he could feel the slight swelling from her fresh red adornments in the blue technician marks which shone through the low-cut summer top in the photo. He remembered the feeling of her lips on his mouth and his body, her hands rough from working.

He plucked the headset from his ear, got up and went to the bed. He hesitated for a moment, then carefully removed the photo from the wall and with his thumb brushed over Sarah's dark brown curls. It was almost three years ago and Emmett's quiet reproach echoed in him. His squad was disbanded, he was posted. Joey would be transferred. Emmett had asked his advice. Life went on. It seemed Emmett had finally found a girl he liked.

_Life went on._

The pain in Logan's chest felt strange. Dull and not as burning as he vividly remembered it. Again he stroked Sarah's photo with his thumb, then he turned around and went to his closet. In a compartment, hidden behind socks and underpants, was his little lockbox, which he now pulled out. His thumbprint let the lock snap open and without looking at the rest of the contents, he put the photo on top and closed the box again.   
His grief therapist would be pleased.

~

The worn-out basketball had lost its grip and slipped in Logan's sweaty hands when he threw it at Jonas. The older man, however, caught it skillfully, continued to dribble, threw and hit. Logan, Jonas and the rest of the team cheered while Joey and the others of the opposing team pulled a face- it had been the final point to the agreed victory.   
"Logan!"   
His head jerked around, Sascha nodded at him.   
"What does she want _now_?" Joey asked, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from his brow. Logan shrugged and jogged over to her.   
"What's up?"   
"Did you tell Joey?" she asked tense.   
"No, of course not. Major Duke is gonna-"   
"Tell him." H  
e blinked at her. "Excuse me?"   
"Tell him, warn him." Sascha repeated seriously. "I just had a conversation with your old man and I don't like what I heard. I'm gonna go talk to the others, but Joey's the one you should be worried about."   
Logan hesitated, after all he didn't know what Nathan had told Sascha.   
"I'm serious. Everybody heard about Sector 23 and the special ops at dinner." Her voice scratched differently than usual, but he turned halfway around and looked back at Joey, who tried to snatch the ball from Philipp for fun.   
"Bets are already being made as to who will be sent there."   
Logan snorted. "It sounds like the situation is not being taken seriously."   
"The leaks sound like a puffed-up vendetta..." Obviously Nathan hadn't told Sascha about the supply dome - why should he?   
"It's more than that," he said quietly.   
She simply nodded.   
"You tell the others, including Joey."   
"But he's-"   
"This is _your_ squad, Sascha."   
Her light blue eyes sparkled in the artificial light of the basketball court. "My last duty, huh?"   
He shrugged with an implied smile and she nodded thoughtfully. Without another word to him she turned away. Nathan's words came back to his mind:   
_"At least this incident has given us a reason to finally disband Zarkova's squad and transfer her."_ Sascha was only a few years older than Logan and it wasn't her first command as far as he knew. What could she have possibly screwed up to justify such words?

Marvin ripped him out of his thoughts by slapping him on the shoulder.   
"If you stand there motionless for much longer, you're gonna catch a cold."   
"Hmm?" Logan made.   
"The others want to play another match. You in or are you coming to the shower?"   
"Shower. Then the teams will be even."   
Marvin nodded and responded to a shout which Logan didn't quite understand, with blowing kisses to the others before grinning at Logan.   
"Honestly, man, you look like your mission was hell, even though it was just a long walk."   
"A three-week walk," Logan specified dryly, and Marvin laughed softly.   
"I would love to trade places with you."   
Logan deeply doubted this, but he steered the conversation in another direction.   
Another hot shower, maybe a little harmless chat with his comrades and then finally his well-deserved soft barracks bed.


End file.
